I did a search and only found 1 post; and that only mentioned the Hurt Report. I'm not sure of how many of us have actually read the thing, so I thought I'd post it for your late night reading pleasure. I found it interesting...

So without further ado (what the hell is ado anyway?)...

"The Hurt Report"
(AKA "Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures")

To order the full report, contact:

National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, Virginia 22161
(703)-487-4600

and order:
Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures, Volume 1: Technical Report, Hurt, H.H., Ouellet, J.V. and Thom, D.R., Traffic Safety Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90007, Contract No. DOT HS-5-01160, January 1981 (Final Report)
Vol.I (The Main Report and Summary) is PB81206443 (~400 pages)
Vol.II (Appendix: Supplementary Data) is PB81206450 (~400 pages)
Either document is $42.95 plus $3.00 shipping. (circa 1990)


A brief summary of the findings is listed below.


Summary of Findings

Throughout the accident and exposure data there are special observations which relate to accident and injury causation and characteristics of the motorcycle accidents studied. These findings are summarized as follows:

1. Approximately three-fourths of these motorcycle accidents involved collision with another vehicle, which was most often a passenger automobile.

2. Approximately one-fourth of these motorcycle accidents were single vehicle accidents involving the motorcycle colliding with the roadway or some fixed object in the environment.

3. Vehicle failure accounted for less than 3% of these motorcycle accidents, and most of those were single vehicle accidents where control was lost due to a puncture flat.

4. In single vehicle accidents, motorcycle rider error was present as the accident precipitating factor in about two-thirds of the cases, with the typical error being a slideout and fall due to overbraking or running wide on a curve due to excess speed or under-cornering.

5. Roadway defects (pavement ridges, potholes, etc.) were the accident cause in 2% of the accidents; animal involvement was 1% of the accidents.

6. In multiple vehicle accidents, the driver of the other vehicle violated the motorcycle right-of-way and caused the accident in two-thirds of those accidents.

7. The failure of motorists to detect and recognize motorcycles in traffic is the predominating cause of motorcycle accidents. The driver of the other vehicle involved in collision with the motorcycle did not see the motorcycle before the collision, or did not see the motorcycle until too late to avoid the collision.

8. Deliberate hostile action by a motorist against a motorcycle rider is a rare accident cause. The most frequent accident configuration is the motorcycle proceeding straight then the automobile makes a left turn in front of the oncoming motorcycle.

10. Intersections are the most likely place for the motorcycle accident, with the other vehicle violating the motorcycle right-of-way, and often violating traffic controls.

11. Weather is not a factor in 98% of motorcycle accidents.

12. Most motorcycle accidents involve a short trip associated with shopping, errands, friends, entertainment or recreation, and the accident is likely to happen in a very short time close to the trip origin.

13. The view of the motorcycle or the other vehicle involved in the accident is limited by glare or obstructed by other vehicles in almost half of the multiple vehicle accidents.

14. Conspicuity of the motorcycle is a critical factor in the multiple vehicle accidents, and accident involvement is significantly reduced by the use of motorcycle headlamps (on in daylight) and the wearing of high visibility yellow, oran

 

The study is very outdated and doesn't necessarily follow with what is happening on the road today. I remember reading that some group was prodding the federal gooberheads to commission another study. That way we'll all know that crashing w/o a helmet might likely lead to more damage to the brain, full face helmets protect the face better than skid lids, ya gets less road rash if'n yer wearing long pants & sleeves, and even less if'n yer wearing leathers or ballistic wear, drunks crash more'n those what ain't drunk, cagers too often don't see 600# muttersickles topped by 200# fatboys, and educatin' folks on how to ride will reduce in less bangers. Oh, don't forget that if we simply give some more tax money for further studies and pass new laws about requiring full roll cages & air bags on bikes, there will be even fewer bangers.

Not making light of the study too much, but what they essentially found back in '81 was pretty much what a common slug could've figured out if he thought for 2 - 3 minutes.

And for you crash bar types - 39. Crash bars are not an effective injury countermeasure; the reduction of injury to the ankle-foot is balanced by increase of injury to the thigh-upper leg, knee, and lower leg.

Rider education classes being required for an mc endorsement is probably the best thing coming out of this study, and yet it was known well before the study that such education would have that effect.

Tax time always makes me pessimistic about anything related to gooberment.

 

Very interesting stuff. It sort of like all the stuff we knew or don’t really want to know but in a scientific study.

 

The moral of this report is to were the correct protective gearing and watch out for the caged drivers.

 

We might see different stats now as regards the ages of the crashing riders and the frequency of hostile action taken against the rider by a cage.... Seems like I've been reading that my age group's (40's and 50's) fatality rate has been climbing the last few years and we hear a lot more about road rage than we used to....

Not sure updating that info would help us any (the main crash causes and preventions are fairly obvious), but it might be worth a few billion of our tax dollars to find out... (note sarcasm).

 

Do people buy them to protect themselves? I bought mine to hopefully protect the bike in a low/no speed drop, as well as a place to put highway pegs.

I can't imaging some thin tubing doing much to protect me in a crash.

 

Rhubarb, that's exactly what they're good for. But some folks buy 'em thinking they'll protect their legs. I imagine some screwball got a lawyer to sue the crap outta one of the makers, 'cause all of 'em have that disclaimer on 'em - "These ain't to protect yer legs, stoopit."